


Revolution, Retribution

by kiite



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Other characters mentioned but it’s really just shinji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 18:39:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16046285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiite/pseuds/kiite
Summary: Shinji’s revolution fails much more miserably than he anticipated.





	Revolution, Retribution

Shinji groaned, rolling over onto his back. His head was pounding and there was a strange feeling all over his body. He forced himself to sit up, glancing around to gain his bearings. The alley was unfamiliar and deserted, leaving Shinji with a lot of questions and a horrible headache.

For the life of him, Shinji couldn’t remember what had happened. The last thing he remembered was leading riots in the streets, and then… there was a blank. He raised his duel disk up in search of answers, pleasantly surprised to see he had a new voice message. He hoped it was one of his friends giving him a clue as to what was going on.

Shinji frowned as he realized he didn’t recognize the number. Despite the strong implications that this could be spam, Shinji decided to listen anyway. If there was a chance the gaps in his memory could be filled, it was worth a shot. He noted that the message was recorded some fifteen hours ago before he pressed play.

“Hello, _Mr. Weber._ ” The voice immediately made the hairs on the back of Shinji’s neck stand up. There was no way he’d mistake the voice of the man he spent years hating. Roget. Shinji ground his teeth in anger before resuming the message.

“It seems your little game has come to an end.” Roget drawled, his voice like needles. “Oh, perhaps that’s rude. Your little _revolution._ ” Shinji felt his blood run cold; did… had the revolution failed? What the hell had happened? Shinji wanted to slam his head into the brick wall until he remembered.

“Now, onto the bigger issue: you!” Roget exclaimed, and Shinji could almost picture him clapping his hands together. He wanted to vomit, and only partially because of the lingering nausea. “I spent a _long_ time thinking of how I should punish you. I’ve been thinking about it ever since the Fortune Cup; I knew you’d pull something, and you lived up to expectations. I thank you for that.”

If he could, Shinji would clock Roget right in the jaw for a million different reasons. His blood was boiling and he felt the need to punch _something_ becoming non-negotiable. “After your loss in the Friendship Cup, I learned something important about you. You, Mr. Weber, don’t respond to physical punishment. When you are locked up, you break out. When you are kicked down, you get back up.”

 _That’s right,_ Shinji though spitefully, _and I’ll get back up from this too. Just you wait._ The sound of Roget’s disgusting, lilting voice grabbed his attention back. “So I came to the only natural conclusion… To truly punish you, I had to do something you can’t recover from. Chains and broken bones can only get you so far. Allow me to fill you in on what you may have missed.”

Shinji swallowed, preparing himself for what he might hear. _Whatever it is, I can overcome it,_ Shinji resolved. He had to.

“First of all, you should know that all your fellow revolutionaries have been detained. Tony Simmons and Damon Lopez have demanded to know about your status multiple times. I haven’t had to _heart_ to tell them that their leader is roaming the streets as a free man while they begin their sentences. I’m sure I’ll find it soon enough, though.”

“And then there’s poor Crow Hogan…” Roget trailed off, voice dripping with fake sympathy. “I’ve arranged it as such that Mr. Hogan is credited as the violent young upstart who started this whole revolution business. He is going to be spending an _indefinite_ amount of time in solitary confinement; I wouldn’t bother trying to visit. Poor Mr. Hogan will be quite preoccupied staring at his concrete walls for the rest of his days, I’m afraid.”

If Shinji’s heart had ached after the first bit of news, it was threatening to break now. _Please. Not Crow,_ Shinji silently begged to no one in particular. Crow had been against this from the start; he had tried to tell Shinji that violence wasn’t the answer, tried to get him to rethink his plan. But Shinji didn’t listen, and now Crow was rotting away in prison in place of him.

 _The kids,_ Shinji thought, scrambling to stand up, _I have to make sure the kids are okay._ As if reading his mind, Roget’s voice chimed in once more. “Oh, and don’t worry about those children of his. They’ve been dealt with.”

Shinji froze, heart hammering in his ears. If Roget had hurt any of them, Shinji swore he’d kill him twice over. “It’s such a shame that their father has been taken from them by these unfortunate circumstances, but I’ve taken care to place them in certain facilities for children without guardians. The only issue is that many institutes did not have the resources to accommodate three new residents at this time. And so, as much as it pains me, I had to separate them. Truly heartbreaking.”

Shinji wanted to smash his duel disk on the concrete; the sickly-sweet condescending pity radiating off of Roget was too much. He choked out a sob, curing his head down behind his knees. The pain in his head was nothing compared to the stabbing in his heart. From its place on the ground next to him, Roget’s tinny voice echoed out of the duel disk.

“Maybe now you will understand that your actions have _consequences_ , Mr. Weber.” Roget chided, but it sounded like he was trying to hold back glee. It made Shinji sick. “That will be all for now. You played and lost, and you’ve paid the price. Or more aptly, others have paid it for you. Next time I will not be so kind. Do mind your manners in the future, Mr. Weber.”

The message ended, static filling the air around Shinji. Somewhere in the distance, crows cawed loudly and smoke billowed into the cloudy sky; none of this mattered to Shinji, who had tuned everything out. He hugged his knees tighter and squeezed his eyes shut, a few tears slipping through.

 _I’m sorry,_ Shinji thought as he wept, shaking. _I’m so fucking sorry, everyone._


End file.
